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May 6, 2013
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and government. don't care about principle. >> all right. so, just wad? >> so one one thing about the lesson, you wanting to realistic, you were setting a budget for every seat in the parliament. so a minimum of half a million egyptian pounds which is like $90,000. and so when i was talking to other parties and how much budget they have. they have like a million 500,000 for every seat. so also, i mean, very clear logistical issues and financial issues that even if we have people wanting us and all that stuff we don't have the financial means to do that. and unfortunately a lot of people have been apathetic. living their live life on facebook and saying all this stuff. when it comes to the real issue, okay, so pay and you know, and in supporting a candidate instead, my family and all my friends, i'm not just talking about other people. they're like, i know -- >> you're suggesting that the u.s. should give more -- >> the question before you asked. i would get killed if you -- [inaudible] egyptians, eve
and government. don't care about principle. >> all right. so, just wad? >> so one one thing about the lesson, you wanting to realistic, you were setting a budget for every seat in the parliament. so a minimum of half a million egyptian pounds which is like $90,000. and so when i was talking to other parties and how much budget they have. they have like a million 500,000 for every seat. so also, i mean, very clear logistical issues and financial issues that even if we have people...
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May 7, 2013
05/13
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it is our government, not the government. and we believe that it is not people who work in partnership, the part and partnership of all the. we only be partners or to make sure we have a government that we want and that we deserve. finally coming critically, i have to say on twitter hashtag which is psrw, and let folks know that we do have a fairly sizable online audience as well, and so will try to repeat questions for them, and likewise if you question at the end you can use, recognize that they are there listening as well. so with that i had the great pleasure and honor of turn the podium over to someone who doesn't have a cold and you will note from lester, also does not have a broken arm, which has been designated to shaun donovan, it seems to be the tradition that these events, it will probably have a less large shown next year amongst the panelists. but truly it is an exceptional group of folks that we have here, true great leaders in government, people that i'm proud to have leading major pieces of our government. i'm
it is our government, not the government. and we believe that it is not people who work in partnership, the part and partnership of all the. we only be partners or to make sure we have a government that we want and that we deserve. finally coming critically, i have to say on twitter hashtag which is psrw, and let folks know that we do have a fairly sizable online audience as well, and so will try to repeat questions for them, and likewise if you question at the end you can use, recognize that...
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May 13, 2013
05/13
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how much they dislike the government, no matter how much they feel the government's not representative of them in many other ways. and no matter how much they feel that the human rights situation, the civil rights situation in iran, the democratic process, all of those situations, all those issues are of importance and are not in the situation where the iranian people want them to be. despite that, they are still going to support the nation when it comes to its rights. because once you give up some of your rights because you're told to, once you accept being dictated to, then you really don't have independence anymore. and that is really, really important for the iranian people. and it's something that i think our politicians have to understand not just with iran, but with every country that we deal with. we're used to being able to tell other countries what to do. we're used to being able to throw our weight around. it doesn't work anymore. it can only work be if we really are willing to go to war, and i don't believe any of us believe we are capable of that anymore, of going to war w
how much they dislike the government, no matter how much they feel the government's not representative of them in many other ways. and no matter how much they feel that the human rights situation, the civil rights situation in iran, the democratic process, all of those situations, all those issues are of importance and are not in the situation where the iranian people want them to be. despite that, they are still going to support the nation when it comes to its rights. because once you give up...
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May 14, 2013
05/13
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the american people deserve a government that jealously guards the liberties of its citizens, not a government that tramples on our basic constitutional rights. mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mrs. boxer: mr. president, i ask that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mrs. boxer: mr. president, in the interest of all senators and frankly in the interest of the people of this courages we are moving forward -- of this country, we are moving forward on a water resources development act. the question is, will we be able to clear a list of amendments, some by voice vote, and a further list of more controversial amendments by recorded vote? i'm hoping that is the case. senator vitter and i hope that is the case, that we can get clearance on these packages of amendments. if we do not, we have to decide whether to invoke cloture, which will bring gite a close. and i would already bring debate to a close. and if we have to go
the american people deserve a government that jealously guards the liberties of its citizens, not a government that tramples on our basic constitutional rights. mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mrs. boxer: mr. president, i ask that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mrs. boxer: mr. president, in the interest of all...
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May 13, 2013
05/13
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and louisiana and new hampshire, we must not become the party obsessed with government and government only. this debate is not about what we hear about. we are fighting this debate on the other party's terms. this is all about the government economy, not the private sector economy. we need to remind the american people the other party, not the republican party. for the part or if of fewer jobs, low-rent, where scarcity. i do know that you, but the republican party is not the party hereto manage the slow decline of this great country. that's not our mission. that's the republican party school. yet we have fought this entire debate on the other side's terms. we need to make it clear to the american people we are all about the other. it happens far outside of washington d.c. we need to get our spending under control, but we are about freedom. make no mistake, you can have prosperity and you can't have that makes america so great without individual economic security. world by helping others during the middle class. that includes an energy policy was washington d.c. telling us how to live
and louisiana and new hampshire, we must not become the party obsessed with government and government only. this debate is not about what we hear about. we are fighting this debate on the other party's terms. this is all about the government economy, not the private sector economy. we need to remind the american people the other party, not the republican party. for the part or if of fewer jobs, low-rent, where scarcity. i do know that you, but the republican party is not the party hereto manage...
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May 10, 2013
05/13
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i spend a lot of years in government to shorten the waiting perot when they reach the government. it's waiting periods get longer and questions don't get answered i don't know how you measure the cumulative impact of every person that is kept on hold for 15 minutes or half an hour and it doesn't get a clear answer that is a taxpayer that hasn't been well served. for every dollar that we do not raise on the revenue that should have properly been paid back because we didn't have an enforcement officer it is just the key to the tax system that we enforce the law and the we push as best as we can. on the program side, the impact in terms of the direct services the benefit is being reduced. the grant benefit is being reduced. those are helping build the community is providing financing for important infrastructure projects. those are the kind of things we wouldn't have chosen to cut because the sequestration was across-the-board. i don't think there is any way to have flexibility to have the problems on an agency like the treasury or the other agencies of government. it is just shiftin
i spend a lot of years in government to shorten the waiting perot when they reach the government. it's waiting periods get longer and questions don't get answered i don't know how you measure the cumulative impact of every person that is kept on hold for 15 minutes or half an hour and it doesn't get a clear answer that is a taxpayer that hasn't been well served. for every dollar that we do not raise on the revenue that should have properly been paid back because we didn't have an enforcement...
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May 8, 2013
05/13
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it's about governing. that's the fundamental question that's before this body, it's about governing. i rise surprised and disappointed. i expected to come here and debate issues. instead, we're debating debati debating. we're having to argue and debate about the very act of getting to talk about these issues. and the problem, mr. president, with the economy of this country right now, in my mind, is very largely attributable to the uncertainty about whether the government in washington is competent. it's the uncertainty that's killing us. a reporter asked me last week in maine, "what do you think you can do in washington to help us create jobs?" and my immediate answer was, the most important thing we could do is pass a budget in a kind of rational process, in the normal way that's been done for 200 years and show the country that we can govern. it's less important what's in the budget than whether we can do it at all. and that's why i'm so surprised and disaintd tand disappointed o this impasse, where we c
it's about governing. that's the fundamental question that's before this body, it's about governing. i rise surprised and disappointed. i expected to come here and debate issues. instead, we're debating debati debating. we're having to argue and debate about the very act of getting to talk about these issues. and the problem, mr. president, with the economy of this country right now, in my mind, is very largely attributable to the uncertainty about whether the government in washington is...
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May 13, 2013
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-- sub diesed by the government. it talks about ms. phillipic, she worked on the 2008 campaign, deputy director of the democratic national committee, worked in obama white house as deputy for public engagement, she said her time is not political. in her work for enroll america. she says we're thrilled to be working with the secretary sebelius and have to have her support. several executives to received these calls for money said they were up comfortable for the discussions because the federal government has the power to approve or reject the health plans they want to sell on insurance markets run by federal officials in 30 states. mr. secretary, secretary sebelius is fundraising for and coordinating with private entities helping to implement the health care law may be illegal. should cease immediately, and should be fully investigated by congress. later this week i'll be signing a letter with my colleagues to the government accountability office asking them to examine the issue. we'll be asking the g.a.o. to examine
-- sub diesed by the government. it talks about ms. phillipic, she worked on the 2008 campaign, deputy director of the democratic national committee, worked in obama white house as deputy for public engagement, she said her time is not political. in her work for enroll america. she says we're thrilled to be working with the secretary sebelius and have to have her support. several executives to received these calls for money said they were up comfortable for the discussions because the federal...
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May 8, 2013
05/13
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the less open and transparent government is, the more opportunities there are to exploit government information for profits in the market. i have been investigate the roll of political intelligence firms in the early release of information about medicare advantage and the rates connected with medicare advantage prior to the public announcement that was made by c.m.s. on april 1. there's been some confusion over the scope of my inquiry so i come to the floor to clear up these things and to expand on the whole operation of political intelligence-gathering. there are reports that the security and exchange commission is investigating whether material nonpublic information was released about the medicare advantage rates. my interest is much broader than that. political intelligence is not the same thing as material nonpublic information. gathering public intelligence includes a lot of activity that falls far short of material nonpublic information. so just because i'm asking questions about how certain information or expert opinions flowed to these political intelligence firms does not mean that i a
the less open and transparent government is, the more opportunities there are to exploit government information for profits in the market. i have been investigate the roll of political intelligence firms in the early release of information about medicare advantage and the rates connected with medicare advantage prior to the public announcement that was made by c.m.s. on april 1. there's been some confusion over the scope of my inquiry so i come to the floor to clear up these things and to...
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May 14, 2013
05/13
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there will be no rules governing them. because of the way the barrasso amendment is written, any effort to clarify uncertainty that has resulted in delays and confusion and slowed efforts to hold polluters accountable will be null and void. can have no effort. you can't use the guidance, you've got to throw it away. and if anything comes forward that remotely resembles it, you've got to throw it away. then you can't make a rule. so this is harmful. now, in closing, i want to talko protect the people from. we know some of the dangerous pollution that gets dumped into our nation's waterways. sometimes on purpose, sometimes by accident. but we have chemical pollution, all kinds of industrial pollution, and it includes such chemicals as arsenic, very dangerous for people. and i will have more to say on the specifics. but we know there's waterborne diseases, people get very ill if the drinking water is not good, if the swimming water is not good. and the warmer our waters are getting, the more dangerous it is. certain organisms
there will be no rules governing them. because of the way the barrasso amendment is written, any effort to clarify uncertainty that has resulted in delays and confusion and slowed efforts to hold polluters accountable will be null and void. can have no effort. you can't use the guidance, you've got to throw it away. and if anything comes forward that remotely resembles it, you've got to throw it away. then you can't make a rule. so this is harmful. now, in closing, i want to talko protect the...
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May 10, 2013
05/13
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i frankly, shutting down government was worse than sequester. i think the sequester is having a heart felt effect on economy and harmful effect on the economy. it wasn't overnight. it's a drip, drip, drip that is harming our economy. so i understand what the gentleman told us, but i would hope that question would seriously consider trying to see if we can reach agreement either outside the context of the budget conference, or inside the context budget conference that would give us an agentive which would be more positive, and helpful to our economy. the next subject simply the debt ceiling, we just passed a bill on the prioritization. we anonymously oppose that on our side. we think it's not a good policy. obviously there's a disagreement on that. can the gentleman tell me, may 19th is the day the debt ceiling extension expires. can the gentleman tell me whether there's any proposal to act in the near future other than debt prioritization which will have no chance in the senate, and opposed by many republican economists as the gentleman knows, a
i frankly, shutting down government was worse than sequester. i think the sequester is having a heart felt effect on economy and harmful effect on the economy. it wasn't overnight. it's a drip, drip, drip that is harming our economy. so i understand what the gentleman told us, but i would hope that question would seriously consider trying to see if we can reach agreement either outside the context of the budget conference, or inside the context budget conference that would give us an agentive...
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May 14, 2013
05/13
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local governments can't. under the law, according to all the rules of the court and everybody else, we have to have the definition here. no one i know wants to classify a ditch or a puddle as a water of the united states. that's always brought up, but that's -- that's just a red herring. we need to make sure we have a clean water act that protects the people, protects their drinking water, makes sure they are safe when they swim in a lake, and if we don't move forward with a rule and at the end of the day this amendment will not allow that to happen, we're in chaos, and it does not protect our people from arsenic, from lead, from whatever toxin there may be in a water -- a body of water. so i hope we will reject this. i thank my friend for offering it, but i really think it's misguided, and i would yield the floor and ask for the vote. mr. barrasso: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote: vote: the presidi
local governments can't. under the law, according to all the rules of the court and everybody else, we have to have the definition here. no one i know wants to classify a ditch or a puddle as a water of the united states. that's always brought up, but that's -- that's just a red herring. we need to make sure we have a clean water act that protects the people, protects their drinking water, makes sure they are safe when they swim in a lake, and if we don't move forward with a rule and at the end...
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May 7, 2013
05/13
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in afghanistan, the president has honored our commitment to assist the national government but he is also said that we will neither pursue unachievable goals nor demands that our fighting men and women carry the burden forever. in the middle east secretary kerry is engaged in a brave effort to revive the peace process but with the understanding that we can not want peace more than the israelis and palestinians. it is their land, their lives, and their future that will be at stake in any settlement. and finally in the economic arena the administration has sought to improve coordination with our allies and partners while going the extra mile in pursuit of a bipartisan budget agreement here at home. overall, mr. obama has adopted an approach to global affairs that conveys
in afghanistan, the president has honored our commitment to assist the national government but he is also said that we will neither pursue unachievable goals nor demands that our fighting men and women carry the burden forever. in the middle east secretary kerry is engaged in a brave effort to revive the peace process but with the understanding that we can not want peace more than the israelis and palestinians. it is their land, their lives, and their future that will be at stake in any...
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May 9, 2013
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the government only hacks are governed. we see then they go away. cheney just keep going through it. there's an enormous gap between china's first, russia's second, the second is competition there. we see attacks out of the middle east more. >> i'm going to get with senator white house and do something about this. we are going to try to put nation states on notice that if you continue to do they still pay a price. these are programs or tools available to us politicians to pick it back or send notice and maybe the immigration bill would be a good opportunity that we have to think outside the box. when it comes to cyber9/11, i've got two minutes and 20 seconds. could you describe what you think of cyber9/11 could look like? >> very briefly to break into a network of you can probably break it. no networks in the united states haven't been broken into. all of them can be attacked and in many cases you can move to the equipment that runs on that and break that. we demonstrated that it ths with a generator, just assigning code to what we burned it out. th
the government only hacks are governed. we see then they go away. cheney just keep going through it. there's an enormous gap between china's first, russia's second, the second is competition there. we see attacks out of the middle east more. >> i'm going to get with senator white house and do something about this. we are going to try to put nation states on notice that if you continue to do they still pay a price. these are programs or tools available to us politicians to pick it back or...
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May 8, 2013
05/13
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our government spends the money. >> there is a joint agreement that government should spend money on things like this. one of the huge issues we face in our economy is the skills that. we have 400,000 people in a while looking for a job today, 100,000 jobs open. why is that? primarily because those people looking to not have skills to fill 100,000 jobs in ohio. people say unemployment is going down. not really. if you look at the labour participation rate, if you assume the same labor participation people in the work force looking for work as when the recession began we are 11.3% unemployment. a lot of it is demographic. that doesn't account for the lowest labor participation rate since 1979 since jimmy carter was president. my point is there's a huge skills gap. one thing the federal government could do, part of the final agreement is to take a worker retraining program at the federal level because we have 15% to $18 billion a year we're spending and having worked better to close the gaps of 46 programs spread over nine department and agencies and the g a o studied it saying there's
our government spends the money. >> there is a joint agreement that government should spend money on things like this. one of the huge issues we face in our economy is the skills that. we have 400,000 people in a while looking for a job today, 100,000 jobs open. why is that? primarily because those people looking to not have skills to fill 100,000 jobs in ohio. people say unemployment is going down. not really. if you look at the labour participation rate, if you assume the same labor...
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May 6, 2013
05/13
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public security, the security of individualings, a critical element of governance, of good governance. the institutional reforms that need to continue to be made, the commitment to the rule of law a needs to get, to be deeper and deeper. economic and social development that we need to focus on more and more to make a true commitment to. all of those things will be taking place. but the study group has focused on the opportunities. the opportunities that have been created because of changes that have already taken place. and the biggest opportunity we see is to start thinking together about what kinds of skills, how can we equip our citizens, each country doing it on its own but also thinking laterally, thinking within the region. how can we equip our people? this way they can succeed. when our people succeed, the country grows. when people really want to hold on to their middle class status, they make demands of their government. they create opportunities for investors. the more investors, the more purchasers, the more confidence, the greater the opportunities for our country become.
public security, the security of individualings, a critical element of governance, of good governance. the institutional reforms that need to continue to be made, the commitment to the rule of law a needs to get, to be deeper and deeper. economic and social development that we need to focus on more and more to make a true commitment to. all of those things will be taking place. but the study group has focused on the opportunities. the opportunities that have been created because of changes that...
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May 9, 2013
05/13
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they want to see that we can govern. i really urge those who are coming up here and time and time again blocking us from getting to pint to debate our two different budgets and to come to a compromise, to allow us to get the work of the american people done and allow us to go to conference. thank you, madam president. i yield. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: before my friend leaves the floor i want the record spread with this: the admiration that the democratic caucus has for the senator from washington is significant. she's an elected leader, she was the person chosen to be the chair of the super committee to come up with a plan to solve the nation's crisis we have economically and she did yeoman's work. it was all done until a letter was received from virtually every republican senator saying fine, great deal that chairman murray has done but we're not going to agree to mi revenue. and then to work through this contentious problems we've had here on the floor and come up with a budget is remarkabl
they want to see that we can govern. i really urge those who are coming up here and time and time again blocking us from getting to pint to debate our two different budgets and to come to a compromise, to allow us to get the work of the american people done and allow us to go to conference. thank you, madam president. i yield. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: before my friend leaves the floor i want the record spread with this: the admiration that the democratic caucus has...
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May 7, 2013
05/13
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anton baptiste, head of bloomberg government. teammate for joining us in thank you for sponsors for supporting a conversation on pension reform. only launched over two years ago with the aspiration of creating a one-stop shop for data, tools, news, proprietary analysis to help government affairs and government sales professionals make better, faster decisions. part of the aspiration is conversation on important issues that face imation today, particularly the intersection of business and government. today with the quality construction alliance who will discuss the implications multiemployer pension plans. many challenges face pension reform and i'm sure we'll touch on for than a few over the next hour and half. before we kick off our program moderated by bob layton, bob hoover will say a few words. it is the vice president of north american construction. over the last several decades, has held leadership post to some of the largest contracting firms in the country. users as a cochair of the national maintenance agreement committi
anton baptiste, head of bloomberg government. teammate for joining us in thank you for sponsors for supporting a conversation on pension reform. only launched over two years ago with the aspiration of creating a one-stop shop for data, tools, news, proprietary analysis to help government affairs and government sales professionals make better, faster decisions. part of the aspiration is conversation on important issues that face imation today, particularly the intersection of business and...
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May 9, 2013
05/13
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syria's government institutions are crumbling which would create a dangerous vacuum. any action by the united states or the west, even if it's with our arab partners, risks significant escalation, and that any security vacuum could be filled by islamist extremists. well, mr. president, i have supported and i will continue to support the president's contributions to provide humanitarian relief to the syrian people throughout the region as well as the additional assistance he has pledged to jordan to help with the devastating impact of this conflict on that country, but it is essential, mr. president, that the united states, working with our allies in the region, step up the military pressure on the assad regime. of course, doing so in a carefully thought out and regionally supported way. certainly, there are significant challenges to any plan of action in syria, but we not only have to figure out the consequences of any action. we also have to figure out the consequences of not taking additional actions. in my view, the facts on the ground today makes the consequences
syria's government institutions are crumbling which would create a dangerous vacuum. any action by the united states or the west, even if it's with our arab partners, risks significant escalation, and that any security vacuum could be filled by islamist extremists. well, mr. president, i have supported and i will continue to support the president's contributions to provide humanitarian relief to the syrian people throughout the region as well as the additional assistance he has pledged to...
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May 10, 2013
05/13
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we -- governance of others. the future defense strategy and the quadrennial defense review. and as we said, we think the sof provide one of the most cost effective options available to decision makers, but it's not an e elixir. it can't solve all problems. the s of socom doesn't stand for superman. we have to husband it and think about how and where we will apply it. and the last really is that we now have an opportunity to look or expand the aperture beyond thinking about the middle east and thinking about counterthere counterterrorism to a much broader application of special operations forces against a much broader range of challenges as we go ahead. so with that, thank you. [applause] >> we have time for a few questions. and i would ask again if you could, if you have a question, please raise your hand for recognition. when you ask your question, please give your name and your affiliation. and as i mentioned, since we're on c-span, i'll repeat the question for jim and chris. so, otto? >> otto -- [inaudible] the conventional forces looking ahead seeing more challenges -- [
we -- governance of others. the future defense strategy and the quadrennial defense review. and as we said, we think the sof provide one of the most cost effective options available to decision makers, but it's not an e elixir. it can't solve all problems. the s of socom doesn't stand for superman. we have to husband it and think about how and where we will apply it. and the last really is that we now have an opportunity to look or expand the aperture beyond thinking about the middle east and...
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May 6, 2013
05/13
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this doesn't cause the federal government to do anything. what it allows is for the states to do what they have already passed laws on. and i can see this from the standpoint of an individual. i know that in wyoming, if you buy something on the internet and you're not charged a tax, you're supposed to fill out a form and send it n. that's a difficult thing to do, hard to even keep track of. and this will eliminate that -- that problem of individuals wanting to pay their tax but not knowing exactly how to do it. i know it from the stand pointed of a small business -- standpoint a small businessman. they have the experience of someone coming in, trying on the goods, finding exactly what they want, the size, the color, the feel, everybody, everything, ann ordering it on the internet. and the even more ironic thing is when they have a problem with it, they bring it back to the local retailer to fix it. and i've ten season it from a standpoint of a mayor. i know in wyoming at least 30% and up to 70% of the revenue of the municipalities comes from
this doesn't cause the federal government to do anything. what it allows is for the states to do what they have already passed laws on. and i can see this from the standpoint of an individual. i know that in wyoming, if you buy something on the internet and you're not charged a tax, you're supposed to fill out a form and send it n. that's a difficult thing to do, hard to even keep track of. and this will eliminate that -- that problem of individuals wanting to pay their tax but not knowing...
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May 7, 2013
05/13
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and since i'm no longer in the government, i'll be able to do that. [laughter] [applause] >> thank you. >> okay. so we're ready for questions as long as you identify yourselves and, um, raise your hand. drew. >> [inaudible] public opinion polls came out saying that the american people have no interest or very little interest in -- [inaudible] any kind of kinetic action in syria. to what degree does that sort of knowledge about where americans sort of stand embolden the assad regime and sort of impede or restrict the president in the options he has? >> well, let me say i think that, obviously, the whole discussion about syria is an incredibly complicated one, as i pointed out. and in terms of the evolution of the ideas about how to deal with syria. and let me just make a comment and a little self-advertising here. i wrote a book called "prague winter" which is about what happened to the country where i was born, czechoslovakia, when the munich agreement was made. and in relooking at that part of history, i realized something that i hadn't, um, in many
and since i'm no longer in the government, i'll be able to do that. [laughter] [applause] >> thank you. >> okay. so we're ready for questions as long as you identify yourselves and, um, raise your hand. drew. >> [inaudible] public opinion polls came out saying that the american people have no interest or very little interest in -- [inaudible] any kind of kinetic action in syria. to what degree does that sort of knowledge about where americans sort of stand embolden the assad...